Rockland native, his wife run for their lives

Michelle Ronan feared she was going to die after two bombs exploded in the crowd of marathon spectators around her Monday afternoon, killing at least three people and injuring more than 100 others.

By Neal Simpson

Wicked Local

By Neal Simpson

Posted Apr. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 15, 2013 at 3:22 PM

By Neal Simpson

Posted Apr. 15, 2013 at 12:01 AM
Updated Apr 15, 2013 at 3:22 PM

BOSTON

» Social News

Michelle Ronan feared she was going to die after two bombs exploded in the crowd of marathon spectators around her Monday afternoon, killing at least three people and injuring more than 100 others.

Ronan and her husband, Rockland native Kyle Ronan, said they took cover in a Boylston Street convenience store with dozens of others immediately after the blasts, which threw the marathon into chaos as many runners were crossing the finish line. After a few moments in the store, the Ronans looked at each other and decided to run for it. “He said, ‘I love you,’ and we ran,” Michelle Ronan said, her hands still shaking.

For the couple, who married in October and now live in Norwood, the day began at about noon when they drove into Boston and found a spot near the finish line to watch the marathon, which has been a springtime tradition in Kyle Ronan’s family. They were watching runners from behind a set of barricades near Boylston and Exeter streets later in the afternoon when they heard a loud noise down the sidewalk to their left that they initially believed was a firecracker or noise maker.

But then they saw thick smoke rise above the crowd and, realizing it was an explosion, turned to their right to try to get away. Moments later, another bomb exploded in front of them.

The couple took cover inside a nearby convenience store, which they said quickly filled up with other people. Looking through the windows at people running through the streets outside, Michelle Ronan feared she and her husband would not make it out alive.

“I literally thought I was going to die,” she said, her voice choked, “and I thought, ‘I wanted to have kids with Kyle.’”

Page 2 of 2 - Fearing for their lives, the couple ran out of the store and found themselves in a street strewn with knocked-over barricades and people collapsed on the ground. They crossed Boylston Street, which had been thick with runners moments earlier, and ran down nearby Ring Street, thinking only that they had to head as far south as they could.

The Ronans ran through the South End with a throng of other people and didn’t stop until they were at least a mile from the marathon. When they got close to Interstate 93, they said they managed to flag a taxi to Quincy.

Michelle Ronan said the experience had left her angry. She said she had always looked at the Boston Marathon as an inspiring event in which competitors challenge themselves to beat their goals, spectators cheer on complete strangers from the sidelines, and volunteers commit to raising money for good causes.

“You look at that and it’s a beautiful thing,” she said, “and someone had the audacity and the evil mind to do something like that at such a beautiful event. Now it’s tainted.”